Embrace
by Obviously Entei
Summary: When a girl's day goes from bad to worse, she finds comfort in the place she last expected it. (OC/Blaziken friendship)


Wrote this in an hour because I'm feeling at possibly my lowest point right now and I wish this is something that would happen with me; not necessarily with Blaziken. For anyone who's tempted to mention this in the review... I purposely didn't give the "female" a name or a clear appearance because I wanted you, the reader, to imagine her as you wished.

PS, yes, I know I'm behind on my PokéFluff story. I WILL get to it, I promise.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Pokémon, Blaziken (though I do own a Blaziken named Blazer) or any pop-culture references within the story.

X X X

Wet warmth trickled down the young woman's cheeks, blinding her- along with the intense emotion- as to where she was going.

It felt like Murphy's Law was showing itself to be true... Everything that could go wrong, did. First, she had gotten into a fight with someone who was supposed to be her best friend, which left her upset and with a tight feeling in her stomach, rendering her unable to think or eat properly. Then, with her mind elsewhere, she failed what was probably one of the hardest math exams of her life... And in college, that said quite a bit.

Now she had gotten in another argument with her parents, something about "you won't get anywhere without math" and "you don't try hard enough", which hurt the female as she hated conflict.

The 18-year-old eventually found herself in a treehouse, the place she always came whenever she needed to think, to cry, or to do whatever.

"It's... not... FAIR!" She wailed to the heavens, stomping her foot. "I treat people RIGHT, I eat my VEGETABLES, I shouldn't have to DEAL with this!" She fell to her knees, burying her face in her sleeves and letting tears fall softly.

It was then that she became aware of something- no, someone- pulling her into their arms.

"Callie, let go." The girl whimpered, pushing the someone off of her. "C'mon, I mean it."

The figure let out a grunt, but held the young girl tighter in response to her struggling. She suddenly stopped flailing, letting out a few ragged breaths before wrapping her arms around the figure holding her. She let her body shake harder, her tears fall more rapidly, her breaths become more ragged.

When she calmed down, the girl became more aware of something. Whoever was holding her had long, lean arms, and a feathery chest. They also sounded masculine, based on the grunt they emitted.

Her friend Callie was none of these.

The girl pulled away reluctantly and dabbed at her eyes with the sleeves of her sweatshirt, and eyed the figure before her.

It was a tall, chicken-like creature, with feathers of orange, yellow and beige. The tips of his talons touched her arms without digging into them, and the creature was probably just over six feet standing up.

The girl had a feeling she knew who it was, but it couldn't be true.

"Blazer...?" The female asked tentatively. The tall creature smiled, gave a pleasant nod, and pulled her in for another- more relaxed this time- hug. She hugged him back, and let out a ragged breath.

"Blazer"- the girl's aptly-named Blaziken- lived in the Hoenn region, in her copy of Omega Ruby. She remembered the giddiness she felt upon receiving him, the pride she felt when he evolved into Combusken and eventually Blaziken, and the sheer joy she felt when she played Pokémon Amie, getting him up to five hearts in the affection meter. As unrealistic as it seemed, that was her favorite moment because she believed it meant he really loved her.

And now here he was, holding her, letting her release her unhealthy balance of feelings. No words were exchanged, but at the moment, none were needed.

He let her go, resting one of his talons on her back and gently stroking up and down.

"Blazer..." She spoke softly, regaining composure, "I don't know if I can face them."

The Blaziken tilted his head to the side, and she continued, "I just don't like dealing with negativity like this... I know it's probably bad that I do this, but I just get so scared! They're scary when they yell..." Her voice cracked, but she didn't cry again. "Everyone is scary when they yell..."

Blazer's talons moved, one intertwining with one of her hands and the other one touching her cheek. Despite his ordinarily timid nature, Blazer's eyes were filled with compassion and a surprising strength.

I'm here for you. His eyes said, I'm right by your side.

The female gave a shy smile and resisted the urge to hug him once more.

"But this can't be real..." She murmured, "I mean... You're a Pokémon."

His talon touched the center of her chest, where her heart beat.

She seemed to get it.

"You're... Real in my...?" Her sentence remained unfinished, but he gave a nod.

And then, slipping his talons through her fingers, he closed his eyes and touched his forehead to girl opened her eyes, feeling at least three times lighter than she had felt mere hours ago. Her head rested on top of her sweatshirt, which she had used as a makeshift pillow, and her body was curled up in a ball.

X X X

"That felt... Really nice." She pulled herself up, looking around at her surroundings. She was still in the treehouse.

"But it couldn't be real."

She then remembered the sensation of the soft pricking of his claws grazing her shirt and the solidness of his talon on her beating heart.

"Right."

The girl took a breath and stood herself up.

"I'm gonna do this, Blazer... And I hope you'll be there with me."


End file.
